Canadian swim team for Delhi CWG announced
By ANIThursday, September 16, 2010
NEW DELHI - Swimming Canada has announced a twenty-seven strong team of swimmers for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
The Canadian squad was selected based on performances at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships and the 2010 IPC World Para-Swimming Championships.
“Our swimmers have demonstrated great Canadian pride over the past weeks,” said CEO and National Coach for Swimming Canada, Pierre Lafontaine. “We have had strong medal performances at the Pan Pacs and the IPC Worlds, while also seeing many of our swimmers are knocking on doors, to make that extra step onto the podium.”
“It’s quite an exciting time for Canadian Swimming as we head into the Commonwealth Games and the second half of the quadrennial.”
The following swimmers have been nominated to Commonwealth Games Canada to represent Canada at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
The men’s team will feature: (name, age, residence, hometown) Ryan COCHRANE, 20, Victoria, BC, Victoria, BC; Scott DICKENS, 25, Vancouver, BC, Burlington, On; Andrew FORD, 21, Guelph, ON, Guelph, ON; Charles FRANCIS, 21, Montreal, QC, Cowansville, QC; Brent HAYDEN, 26, Vancouver, BC, Mission, BC; Stefan HIRNIAK, 25, Victoria, BC, New Brunswick, NJ; Richard HORTNESS, 25, London, ON, Medicine Hat, Alta.; Benoit HUOT, 26, Longueuil, QC, Montreal, QC; Brian JOHNS, 27, Vancouver, BC, Richmond, BC; Tobias ORIWOL, 25, Toronto, ON, Pointe-Claire, QC; Sean PENHALE, 22, Victoria, BC, Red Deer, AB; Blake WORSLEY, 22, Victoria, BC, Denver, COL.
The women’s team will comprise of: (name, age, residence, hometown) Genevieve CANTIN, 19, Quebec, QC, Saguenay, QC; MacKenzie DOWNING, 23, Victoria, BC, Whitehorse, YK; Barbara JARDIN, 19, Montreal, QC, Montreal, QC; Alexa KOMARNYCKY, 20, Victoria, BC, Etobicoke, ON; Audrey LACROIX, 25, Montreal, QC, Pont-Rouge, QC; Lauren LAVIGNA, 21, Vancouver, BC, Burnaby, BC; Martha MCCABE, 20, Vancouver, BC, Toronto, ON; Erica MORNINGSTAR, 21, Calgary, AB, Calgary, AB; Annamay PIERSE, 26, Vancouver, BC, Edmonton, AB; Victoria POON, 25, Lasalle, QC, Hong Kong, China; Katarina ROXON (S9), 17, Cornerbrook, NF, Stephenville, NF; Sinead RUSSELL, 16, Oakville, ON, Burlington, ON; Genevieve SAUMUR, 22, Montreal, QC, Montreal, QC; Katerine SAVARD, 16, Pont-Rouge, Qc, Pont-Rouge, QC; Julia WILKINSON, 23, Victoria, BC, Stratford, ON.
Randy Bennett of Victoria will lead the team as head coach, assisted by Tom Johnson (Vancouver), Joszef Nagy (Vancouver), Benoit Lebrun (Montreal), Jan Bidrman (Calgary), Marc-Andre Pelletier (Cap Rouge St-Augustin Quebec), Nicholas Perron (Quebec) and Pierre Lamy (Montreal).
“We are very happy to welcome the twenty-seven swimmers to the Canadian Commonwealth Games team”, said Canada’s Chef de Mission, Martha Deacon. “With the overall great performances that we saw at the Pan Pacific Championships and IPC Worlds, we are quite excited to see them repeat that success in Delhi.”
For World Record holder Annamay Pierse of Edmonton, the Commonwealth Games are an important step towards her preparation towards London. “It’s another great opportunity to race against some of the best in the world,” said Pierse. “On top of that, I’ve always wanted to go to India, so I’m really excited to represent Canada at the Games.”
Typically, the month of October marks the beginning of the season for elite swimmers. But for former World Champion, Brent Hayden, of Mission, BC, “it’s not the fastest swimmer in the world that will win the race, it’s the best one who will adapt on that day and get his hand on the wall first.” Hayden ended the 2009-10 season with the second fastest time in the world in the men’s 100-metre freestyle.
The Canadian swim team will head to Singapore for an eight-day staging camp, prior to arriving in Delhi on September 30.
Pool competition starts on October 4.
Swimming Canada serves as the national governing body of competitive swimming. Swimming Canada’s vision of ‘Swimming to Win; Winning for Life!’ reflects the lifelong attributes of the sport. The federation comprises 75,000 members and 400 swim clubs across the country. Canadians are global leaders in high performance swimming and development for both able-bodied swimmers and swimmers with a disability. Swimming is recognized as one of the most celebrated and successful Canadian summer Olympic sports. (ANI)
